There will be no shortage of important visitors this weekend for Ohio State’s spring game.
One of them includes five-star wide receiver/defensive back Joshisa Trader, who will visit Ohio State this weekend, a source told Eleven Warriors.
Trader will visit Columbus with his high school teammate, five-star wide receiver and Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith. In the past few weeks, Smith has advocated on Twitter for Trader to choose the Buckeyes.
Trynna Break the internet https://t.co/rD72VyX4TX
— JoshisajojoTrader (@joshisathe1) April 11, 2023
Trader put Ohio State in his top five on December 25, along with Miami, Florida State, Florida and Tennessee. Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Trader is ranked the 18th-best prospect nationally in the 2024 cycle.
Corian Gipson includes Ohio State in his top 5
Four-star 2024 Texas safety Corian Gipson, an Ohio State defensive back target, has included the Buckeyes in his trimmed-down schools list. Gipson released a top five Wednesday: Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, TCU and Clemson.
wheres home?. #AGTG @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/ptFNaYhQKQ
— Corian C8 Gipson (@CorianGipson) April 12, 2023
Gipson is considered the 60th-ranked prospect in 2024 and is expected to visit Ohio State this weekend. He picked up his Buckeyes offer last May.
“They call themselves BIA, best in America, and have a good coaching staff,” Gipson told On3 of what he likes about the Buckeyes. “They are well-experienced coaches, and they recruit the top WRs, so you’ll be gettin' good work at practices.”
Madden Faraimo picks up Ohio State offer
Ohio State has offered one of the top-ranked linebackers in the 2025 class. Four-star California linebacker Madden Faraimo picked up an offer on Tuesday after speaking with James Laurinaitis and Jim Knowles.
Thank you @JLaurinaitis55 and @CoachJimKnowles for the offer to further my academic and athletic career at Ohio State University. The opportunity to play football at the next level is a blessing, and I am extremely grateful. All glory to God #psalm16v8 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/zGw8B9vvvj
— Madden (@MaddenFaraimo) April 11, 2023
Faraimo is considered the 30th-ranked prospect and fourth-rated linebacker in the 2024 class. He’s picked up 16 Division I offers, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, San Diego State, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington.
In Faraimo’s sophomore season, he racked up 33 tackles in five games with two interceptions, a pass deflection and a fumble recovery.
OSU recruits, coaches react to Payton Pierce’s commitment
In case you missed it Tuesday evening, the Buckeyes landed their 10th commitment in the 2024 class in four-star linebacker Payton Pierce. With Pierce’s commitment, Ohio State landed its second defensive prospect in the current cycle and vaulted past Michigan and LSU to the No. 2 spot in 247Sports’ national recruiting rankings.
"I think just the type of players that they have on the team and just how competitive the environment is, it just really fits me the way that they're coached, the way they practice and the way their defense is ran," Pierce told Eleven Warriors of why he committed to the Buckeyes. "I just really think it fits me better than all the other schools I've been recruited to. The environment is one I want to be in, you're with a bunch of guys that want to be the best, have the standard of being the best and are going to college to be the best. I want to be a part of it and lead those guys in my class. I also have great relationships with the coaches, I feel like they not only can make me the best player I can be but also the best person."
Pierce said he plans on actively taking on a peer recruiting role to help with Ohio State’s defensive recruiting efforts. His first target is fellow Texas defensive prospect four-star defensive end Nigel Smith.
"I've already talked to some guys, and they're talking about how they're going to commit soon," Pierce said. "I haven't really talked to any defensive linemen yet, so I might text Nigel Smith. He lives right down the road from me. We need to build this class defensively, we're stacked offensively and there's still more people to get, but I think having that big D-line in front of the linebackers makes our job a lot easier. So finding the best D-linemen to play with the best defensive line coach in the country is really important."
Smith responded to Pierce’s pitch on social media after the commitment Wednesday.
Would be a tuff duo https://t.co/TOU6gY8OWt
— Nigel Smith (@NigelSmith_25) April 11, 2023
Make the move bro, your next!
— Payton Pierce (@payton_pierce26) April 12, 2023
Other Ohio State coaches, football staffers and recruits chimed in on Twitter Wednesday following Pierce’s commitment. We’ve compiled their reactions below.
Who next
— Jeremiah Smith (@Jermiah_Smith1) April 11, 2023
We not done https://t.co/X3Sd1rrzMT
— James (@James_peoples17) April 11, 2023
Finally giving Garrett some company! https://t.co/517is97rkt
— Ian Moore (@IanMoore2024) April 11, 2023
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 11, 2023
— Deontae Armstrong (@DeonArmstrong30) April 11, 2023
Welcome home man!!
— Garrett Stover (@GarrettStover2) April 11, 2023
LFG !!! @payton_pierce26 https://t.co/isZHCIH3tI
— Pss A N. (@AirNoland_) April 11, 2023
Hell yuh @payton_pierce26 Go Bucks!! @OhioStateFB https://t.co/hjz5TbI68d
— Bear Tenney (@BearTenney) April 11, 2023
Go Bucks!!! pic.twitter.com/p2plln7HXf
— James Laurinaitis (@JLaurinaitis55) April 11, 2023
— Coach Tony Alford (@CoachTonyAlford) April 11, 2023
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) April 11, 2023
— Gerren DuHart (@CoachDuHart) April 11, 2023
BM#DevelopedHere #2The4The #Regulators pic.twitter.com/qVPRsP6GRb
— Sam McGrath (@CoachMcGrath22) April 11, 2023
BM
— Devin Jordan (@CoachJordan82) April 11, 2023
Welcome https://t.co/ofPrslgxrX
— Jayden Bonsu (@JaydenBonsu) April 11, 2023